weller



(No Model.)

G. A. WELLER.

VENDING MACHINE. No. 479,688. Patented July 26,1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAVUS A. VELLER, OF LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOCHARLES L. DIES'IERVEG, OF SAME PLACE.

VENDING-MACHINEl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.479,688, dated July 2G, 1892. Application filed May 24, 1892. Serial No.434162. (No model.)

To all whom z5 may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsrAvUs A. WELLER, of La Salle, in the county of LaSalle and State of Illinois, have invented a new and lm- 5 provedVending-Machine, of which the following 1s a full, clear, and exactdescription. The invention relates to coin-operated Vending-machines;and its object is to provide a new and lmproved machine which is simple1o and durable in construction, very accurate and automatic inoperation, and more especially designed for selling envelopes,postagestamps, and the like.

The invention consists of a spring-pressed I5 bar carrying thecoin-holdinglever and a locking-arm pivotally connected with the saidlever and adapted to lock the said bar in place.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details andcombinations of the same, as

2o will be hereinafter desoribed,and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate 5corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a transverse section of the im provement on the line l l ofFig. 2, and Fig. 2 is a sectional front View of the same on the line 2 2of Fig. l.

The improved Vending-machine is provided with a suitably-constructedcasing A, in which is fitted to slide transverselya bar B, extendingbeyond the front of the casing A and carrying at its outer end a buttonC for convenientlypushing the bar. The inner end of the latter is fittedto slide in a bracket D, attached to the back of the casing A, and onthis bracket is arranged a spring E, pressing against the end of the barB, so as to hold the latter normally in an outermost position, theoutward movement of the bar being limited by a stop-pin B', adapted torest against the inner surface of the front of the casing A.

On one side of the bar B Within the casing A is fulcrumed a lever F,formed at its front end with a spoon F', adapted to receive the coinintroduced through a chute G, held in the front of the casing A andleading to the said spoon F. The rear end of the lever F is 5o pivotallyconnected with an arm H, fulcrumed at H on the bracket D, the said armbeing adapted to abut against a lug B2, formed on top of the rear end ofthe bar B.

When the arni H is in a normal position, as shown in Fig. 1,then thesaid arm is inclined downwardly to bring its pivot H slightly above thepivot connecting the lever F with the arm H. Vhen the latter is in thisposition, it securely locks the bar B, so as to prevent the latter frombeing pushed inward un- 6o til a coin is introduced, as hereinafter morefully described.

On the bar Bis fulcrumed a pawl I, adapted to engage a ratchet-wheel J,secured on one side of a Wheel K,vjournaled in suitable bearingsarranged Within the casing A. The rim of the Wheel K is preferably facedwith rubber or other flexible material, the bottom of the wheelextending through a slot L', formed in a plate L, held within the casingA. The 7o under side of this plate L is flush with a slot N, formed inthe front of the casing and through which the envelopes are passed oneat a time from within the casing A when the machine is operated, ashereinafter more fully described.

The envelopes O or other articles to be sold are placed one on top ofthe other and are supported on a plate I), pressed on the under side bya spring Q, resting on the bottom or 8o base of the casing A. rPheenvelopes or other articles to be sold are thus held between the twoplates L and P in such a manner that the top envelope is always engagedby the rim of the Wheel K, so that when the latter is rotated in thedirection of the arrow a' (see Fig. l) the top envelope or article ispushed forward and out through the slot N in the front of the oasing Ato be taken hold of by the operator and pulled entirely out of thecasing. 9o

The operation is as follows: When the several parts are in a normalposition, as shown in Fig. l, then the spoon F of the lever F is inclose proximity to the inner end of the chute G, so that when a coin isintroduced in the latter it passes onto the spoon F therebyoverbalancing the rear end of the lever F, so that the front end of thelatter swings downward and the rear end upward, carrying along the arm Huntil the parts mentioned are in roo the position shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1 that is, the locking-arm I'I is moved away from thelug B2 ofthe bar B, so as to tree the latter. The operator now pushes on thebutton C to move the bar B inward, whereby the jerk given to the bar Bcauses the displacement of the coin on the downwardly-extending spoon Fof the lever F, so that the coin falls ott the spoon and the lever F isfree to swing back. At the inward movement of the bar B the pawl Icauses the ratchet-wheel .I and the wheel K to rotate in the directionof the arrow a', whereby the uppermostenvelope or other article ispushed forward to extend partly through the slot N, the outer end of theen- Velope or article being then taken hold of by The operator for finalremoval from the casing A. As soon as the operator releases the pressureon the bar B the spring E forces the latter back to its normal position.At the same time the arm I-I swings down to its normal position behindthe lug B2, thus locking the lever B in place. The latter cannot then bepushed inward until a new coin is introduced through the slot G todisengage the arm I-I from the lug B2, as above described.

It will be seen that but a few parts comprise the entire apparatus,which is thus not liable to get easily out of order. It Will further beseen that on the return movement of the bar B the free end of the pawl Iglides over the teeth of theratchet-wheel J, so that the latter remainsat a standstill during the return movement of the said bar.

The entire apparatus is very simple and durable in construction andpositive in its movements.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- `1. A vending-machine comprising a springppressed bar, a coin-holding lever tulcrumed on the said bar, and alocking-arm pivotally connected with the said lever and adapted toengage the said bar `to lock the latter in place, substantially as shownand described.

2. A vending-machine comprising a springpressed bar, a coin-holdinglever tulcrumed on the said bar, a locking-arm pivotally connected withthe said lever and adapted to engage the said bar to lock the latter inplace, and a coin-chute opening on the spoon end of the said lever, sothat when the coin passes on the latter the arm II disengages the saidbar to unlock the latter, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a vending-machine, the combination, with a wheel mounted torevolve and adapted to engage the article to be sold, of a springpressedbar mounted to slide and carrying a pawl engaging a ratchet-wheel on thesaid wheel, a coin-holding lever fulcrumed on the said bar and formed atits front end with a spoon adapted to receive the coin, and alocking-arm pivotally connected with the rear end of the said lever andadapted to engage the said bar to lock the latter in place,substantially as shown and described.

4C. In a vending-machine, the combination, with a wheel mounted torevolve and adapted to engage the article to be sold, of a springpressedbar mounted to slide and carrying a pawl engaging a ratchet-wheel on thesaid wheel, a coin-holding lever fulcrumed on the said bar and formed atits front end with a spoon adapted to receive the coin, a lockingarmpivotally connected with the rear end of the said lever and adaped toengage the said bar to lock the latter in place, and a springpressedplate carrying the articles to be sold and forcingthe uppermost articlein contact with the periphery of the said wheel, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a vending-machine, the combination of a spring-pressed barprovided with a lug and fitted to slide transversely, a pivoted armadapted to engage the said lug to lock the'bar in place, a coin-holdinglever fulcrumed on the said bar and pivotally connected at its rear endwith the saidv arm, a fork arranged at the front end of the said leverto receive the coin, a pawl fulcrume'd on the said bar, a ratchetwheelengaged by the said pawl, and a wheel carrying the said ratchet-wheeland adapted to engage with its rim the article to be sold, substantiallyas shown and described.

. GUSTAVUS A. VELLER.

Witnesses:

WM. KAPFER, P. H. KOHL.

